Suma Bankruptcy laws...trying to get it suspended for Katrina victims...hey we're ALL victims of this govt...suspend the whole thing...this Republican congress has been the most vicious, regressive slimefest in our lifetimes. Bankruptcy law called too tough
Move under way to exempt Katrina victims from latest changes
Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer
Victims of Hurricane Katrina should get a reprieve from a tough new federal bankruptcy law set to go into effect Oct. 17, according to consumer activists and some members of Congress.
"We call on Congress to provide emergency relief for Katrina victims from the harsh and inflexible bankruptcy law changes," said Brad Botes, a director of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and a principal in Bond & Botes, a law firm with offices in Gulf Coast states. "In the absence of such relief, the victims of Hurricane Katrina may face a cruel second blow when they try to take steps to put their lives and finances back together."
Proponents of the new law say it will crack down on deadbeats who run up credit card debts heedlessly. Opponents say it makes it almost impossible for people and businesses that have gotten in over their heads financially to make a fresh start.
Travis Plunkett, legislative director of the Consumer Federation of America, joined with Botes in a conference call Wednesday urging that implementation of the law be delayed by a year for Katrina victims and that some of its provisions be permanently waived for them.
Those include a requirement for extensive paperwork such as tax returns and paycheck stubs, a review of the past six months of income, a requirement for debtors to undergo credit counseling and a provision that makes it easier for landlords to evict tenants in bankruptcy. These requirements should be eased for victims of all natural disasters, Plunkett said.
Several congressional Democrats have already said that they support shielding Katrina victims from the law.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, plans to co-sponsor legislation as soon as possible to postpone the law's impact on families and small businesses financially devastated by Katrina, said Ludmilla Scott, a legislative assistant to Conyers.
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., also is expected to introduce legislation to let Katrina victims file for bankruptcy under the older, more flexible law and to ease some of the new law's requirements for victims of natural disasters, Reuters reported.
But it's not clear whether an amendment to the law would attract bipartisan support. Jeff Lungren, a spokesman for House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., seemed to indicate otherwise in remarks quoted by Reuters last week.
"The goal of this law was to ensure that all bill-paying Americans, including victims of Hurricane Katrina, don't have to pay the debts of others that can afford to pay," he said.
While 34 House Democrats have agreed to co-sponsor Conyers' bill, he said no Republicans have expressed interest.
While it may seem self-evident that a natural disaster like a hurricane hurts people economically, experts say that impact often takes a while to show up in bankruptcy filings.
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